mercury motor

[dilleyo]

I have a 1978 Mercury 40hp motor that I need to get fixed soon and was wondering if anyone can reccomend a repair shop near Woodbury. I have been looking online and would've thought that there would be a few in Stillwater, but couldn't seem to locate one. I was going to try to fix it myself, but I slacked it a little bit and now I just want it done. Can someone steer me in the right direction? Thanks.

[BoxMN]

Not sure if they will go back that old, but try Nelson's Marive in WBL. They do good work and are good guys. It won't be "backyard mechanic cheap" though...

[ilovefishing]

what kind of issues are you having, i have 1978 50 hp merc, just got done with water pump, needles on the carbs, 3/4 of the wiring on the motor

[dilleyo]

I don't know much about motors as I am very new to them. My brother and I just purchased our first boat and motor. The motor sometimes bogs down at idle speed and will often kill. There is also an issue with the controls so that I have to really crank on the throttle to get it to get moving past idle speed, I mean REALLY crank on it with all of my might. It goes really well once I get it to (28mph on GPS), but there is no real in-between speeds.

[marine_man]

Let's start at the beginning here...

When it bogs down at idle, try choking it, does it pick up?

Do you know the history on this motor? Was it winterized, fuel stabilizer run through the carbs, etc?

When you say you have to crank on it, you're taking effort to twist the grip, or push on the control handle, right? Which kind of controls do you have - tiller or console (steering wheel)?

marine_man

[BoxMN]

dilleyo, the guys will get you running great in no time. They helped me with several issues.

Here's what I would do, since this is a "new" motor to you -

-get new fuel line and bulb, Merc Brand (~$40)

-clean the carb at least, but while doing it, might as well do whole carb kit (~$30)

-new fuel filter

-new gas with a little Seafoam, and add Seafoam to each tank you use all the time

-check for water in pee hole; if not squirting, then new water pump ($50 for whole "kit"); I would personally do this anyway, so you KNOW when it was last replaced.

You could do all of the above in probably about 2-3 hours the first time you ever do it, and after that in about an hour.

If the throttle is mechanically sticking, then need to check cables or linkage. The guys here will be able to help you more than me, but if remote controls, and it is "binding" either shifting into gear, or "easing" throttle forward, it sounds like when the cable gets a "bend" or kink in it, and in my expereince, that is just before it is going to break. (~$30 per cable). Do both gear and throttle cables at same time if you do them. These are real easy to do, just get the right length if it is them.

Good luck!

[harvey lee]

If you end up needing to take it to a repair shop, Rapid Sports Marine in Ham Lake did a fine job working on mine. They were prompt and good to work with.

I just don,t know how far away they are from you.

[dilleyo]

I am pretty sure that I am going to need new cables. Can anyone reccomend a place to get them from?

[marine_man]

Any dealer will have them or be able to order them.

Good Luck!

marine_man

[marine_man]

Any dealer will have them or be able to order them. If you can, take a look at the cables you have, and see if you can find any numbers right before the FT that is stamped on the cable - that'll give you the length, which you'll need before you go to the dealer. If not, and you're sure you need new cables, take one out of the boat and measure it's overall length.

Good Luck!

marine_man

[dilleyo]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I replaced one of the lines, the easiest one and the one that was damaged and it helped out a ton. I think I will wait to do the other one as it looks like a little more work as far as removing a few more wires and gears inside the control box. The motor still has an issue with cutting out and idiling a little high, but I should be able to fix that pretty easily. I think I am going to try to pick up a new carb kit and see if that takes care of the cutting out issue. I am getting there and soon she'll be like new.......hopefully! I am sure I'll be asking more questions soon, and again, thanks to everyone.

I almost forgot to add that I also picked up a new fuel line and a tank and tried burning through new gas with seafoam and that really seemed to get it going better as well.